Improving Childhood Priorities
More than 200 managers and policy-makers in children’s services will gather in the Highlands this week for a major conference that will bring together international perspectives on how to improve childhoods. The Children in Scotland conference at Aviemore on 6-7 September is being held in association with The Highland Council and NHS Highland, and hosted by the Scottish Executive.
The conference, Building better childhoods: understanding and developing the reform agenda, will discuss varied approaches to building better childhoods, improving services for children, and how to learn from international examples.
The conference will highlight the results of recent research undertaken into the development of integrated services for children in Highland.
The report, ‘Delivering Integrated Services for Children in Highland: an overview of challenges, developments and outcomes’, the largest study of its type ever undertaken in Scotland, looked at the implementation of the Integrated Community School Approach, services for children on the autistic spectrum, youth offending, family support and services for Gypsy/Travellers. It found generally positive outcomes across most areas of service for these groups.
Bill Alexander, Head of Children’s Services in Highland, said: “The landscape of children’s services has transformed in recent years, bringing new challenges, aspirations and possibilities. This reports sets out where we have got to in Highland, and confirms that we are leading the way in Scotland.It provides a strong platform for the development of new systems and processes, that will help professionals work even more effectively together, to help achieve yet better outcomes for children and families. We look forward to some of the key issues and ideas raised by the report being explored at the conference.”
Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, will address a symposium in advance of the start of the conference, and will be interviewed by a group of Highland young people for the conference itself. She said: “The Scottish government is pleased to be able to support this important international conference. We are looking forward to setting out our policies, priorities and ambitions for all children and young people in Scotland, in particular the development of our early years strategy and to learn about what is happening elsewhere in the UK, Eire and Norway.”
Bronwen Cohen, chief executive of Children in Scotland, said: “The conference will highlight the richness of international perspectives on how to improve childhoods and develop better services for children. Through delegates meeting and comparing experiences, and learning from each other about the best approaches, it will demonstrate the value of continuing exchange, discussion and dialogue.”
The conference will include a visit to Highland from Norwegian Government officials and policy makers, following a recent Scottish study visit to Nordland in Norway. Around a dozen senior Norwegian officers will attend the conference, visit a range of local services and meet with senior managers across Highland agencies.
Bronwen Cohen added: “The conclusions from our recent study visit and the contributions of our Norwegian guests will be central to the content of the conference. We will be looking at the Norwegian approach to children’s services and the community in detail, including the value of upbringing plans, planning across childhoods and across agencies, and using community as the basis for place-based learning.”